AFN National Conference
Virtual Conference
Advancing the Global Practice of Forensic Healthcare
November 6–7, 2025
Coming Soon!
CONFERENCE AGENDA
15:15–16:15 ET
Beyond the Exam Room: Forensic Nurses as Frontline Responders to Emerging Threats
Presenter:
Debbie St. Germain, Anne Troy
Summary:
Despite increasing occurrences of domestic terrorism and mass-casualty events within the United States, most forensic nurses receive little to no formal education or training related to terrorism, radicalization, or targeted violence. Forensic nurses are uniquely positioned to extend their scope of practice to include risk recognition and harm reduction associated with emerging threats. This presentation highlights the importance of forensic nurses understanding the social, psychological, and environmental antecedents that contribute to radicalization and violent extremist behavior—particularly in youth and marginalized populations. By incorporating early screening, trauma-informed interventions, and community education into their roles, forensic nurses can help disrupt the trajectory toward violence and promote protective factors at the individual, family, and community levels. A triple-tiered framework will be presented, outlining practical, developmentally appropriate strategies that both novice and advanced forensic nurses can implement within clinical, educational, and public health contexts. These strategies emphasize cross-sector collaboration, proactive engagement, and culturally responsive care to reduce the risk of death and long-term disability associated with acts of mass violence. This approach not only enhances community resilience but also aligns with the evolving responsibilities of forensic nurses as public health leaders and violence prevention specialists. By bridging current knowledge gaps and integrating preventative models into forensic nursing practice, this presentation offers a timely and essential roadmap for responding to the complex dynamics of domestic terrorism and its impact on public safety.
Continuing Education Disclosure
Purpose:
The purpose for the conference is two-fold. First, nurses, forensic nurses, and other health care providers need current, evidence-based education at the novice and the advanced level in order to promote innovative application of practice and research in the multidisciplinary work with victims of violence across the lifespan. Second, novice and expert forensic providers need opportunities to highlight and share their innovative EBP. To meet this purpose, novice and expert presenters from the U.S. and Internationally – four U.S. regions (East, Central, Mountain, Pacific/Alaska/Hawaii) and international – were chosen for this two-day conference.
Criteria for Successful Completion:
Participants will attend live on November 6 & 7, 2025. Recordings will be available one week after the live session and will be available for asynchronous viewing through February 7, 2026.
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Participants will need to attend a minimum of 90% of each presentation session that they wish to obtain credit for and complete an attestation/verification statement of attendance.
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Upon completion of live date attendance, a CE certificate for up to 12.25 contact hours will be awarded. This is commensurate with participation.
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Live and asynchronous attendees will be confirmed by combination of Zoom attendance reports and attestation statements. Completion of a post-attendance survey is also expected.
Disclosures:
There is no relevant financial disclosure with ineligible companies for any program planner or presenter involved with this activity.
The Academy of Forensic Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development with by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.